


New Beginnings

by BookGirlFan



Series: Children of Watership Down [5]
Category: Watership Down - Richard Adams
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Gen, Mentions of other characters - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-03-07
Updated: 2016-03-07
Packaged: 2018-05-25 06:19:34
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6184000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BookGirlFan/pseuds/BookGirlFan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Settling in at Watership Down.</p>
            </blockquote>





	New Beginnings

That night, after dinner was finished, Mr Frith took them on a tour of the house, finishing with the bedrooms. "I'm afraid there's not enough for you each to have your own, so you'll have to decide who will be sharing. Decide quickly, please, or you'll get no sleep tonight. Now, goodnight boys, and sleep well. I'll see you in the morning."

As Mr Frith left, Hazel turned to look at them all. "There's plenty of rooms, so pick which you want, and who you'll share with. Only rule, you have to share with someone. No one sleeps alone, alright?"

The boys nodded then raced off, running ahead to get the best room. Fiver turned to his brother. "You'll share with me, won't you Hazel?"

Hazel smiled at him, ruffling his hair. "Who else would I share with? Come on, little brother, let's pick a room before they're all taken." Fiver laughed, then pushed Hazel's hand away to run ahead, flitting from door to door, Hazel following after. As he walked, he heard the various arguments and discussions the other boys were having. 

"Hey, Dan, look at the side of this room!"

"Silver, do you want to share with me?"

"Um, is there any room which is just a single room?"

"No one by themselves, Strawberry, remember what Hazel said?"

"Can I share with Hazel?"

"Sorry, lad, Hazel's probably sharing with Fiver. You can stay with me, though, if you'd like?"

"Yes, Bigwig, that'd be great!"

"No need to squeeze that hard, kid!"

"I'll share with you, Strawberry."

"You really wouldn't mind?"

"Hey look, Acorn, come here!"

"Acorn, come on! There's room for all three of us in here!"

"I'm coming!"

"What about this one, Bigwig? Oh, look at this one! Bigwig, this one has a pretty window in it! Can we have this one?"

"Settle down, Pipkin! If you want this one, we can take this one."

"Is this one alright, Silver?"

"I don't mind, Strawberry. Pick whichever."

Gradually, the ruckus died down, as the boys divided up and picked their rooms. Fiver had found himself and his brother a reasonably sized room with a large window overseeing the gate. From there, anyone who came to the house would be immediately visible. Even now, the moonlight was shining down, lighting up the front gate. "Good choice, Fiver," Hazel said, beaming proudly at his brother. "Now that we've chosen our room, time to go to bed, okay?"

Fiver nodded, jumping onto the bed closest from the door and wriggling under the covers. Lying there, covers pulled up to his chin, he asked, "Hazel?"

"Yeah?"

"You aren't going to leave, are you?"

"No, we're all staying, remember, Fiver?" Hazel sat cross legged on the other bed, watching the lights coming from the other rooms blink out one by one."We talked about it this afternoon, don't you remember?"

"Not like that, Hazel! You won't go, like mummy went, will you?"

Hazel turned to look at his brother, mouth opening in surprised comprehension. "Fiver, why would you think that?"

"Because we were in a house, like this one, and we were sharing a room, like now, and then I had a dream and they were gone!"Fiver's eyes started to fill with tears, causing him to pull his arms out from under the covers to scrub at them roughly. "I don't want to dream like that, Hazel. When we were outside, and you were right there, it was okay, but now we're in a house again, and you're on the other side of the room again, and I don't want it to all happen again!"

Hazel jumped off his bed and crossed to the other side of the room, to sit on his little brother's bed, one hand on his shoulder, looking him in the eye. "I told you I would always stay with you, Fiver, and I will. I'm not going to leave you."

Fiver held his brother's gaze for a long moment, then gave a little nod, apparently pacified. 

"Think you can sleep now?" Hazel asked. In answer, Fiver pulled his blankets up again and closed his eyes. Before long, his breathing had evened out in sleep. Hazel watched him for a moment, then walked back to his own bed, whispering, "Goodnight, Fiver."


End file.
